FAMU High/FAMU Football Player Killed in Charlotte by LEO

Meditating this morning on the concept of “spiritual wickedness in high places.” Specifically, my thoughts are with the family of Jonathan Ferrell, a Tallahassee native who attended FAMU High School and FAMU, where he was a football star alongside his brother, Willie. The Ferrell brothers are far younger than I so they clearly were not in school at FAMU High when I matriculated there in the late 80′s, but as is the case at both schools I attended as a child, (Florida High also), everyone is considered to be part of the family.

To that end, I feel the pain that many within the extended FAMU High and FAMU families feel as they grapple with the concept that Jonathan was shot 12 times by a Charlotte, North Carolina police officer this past weekend. Ferrell, a model citizen who had just moved to Charlotte, had been in a horrific accident and was likely dazed and confused when he knocked on a stranger’s door for help, the woman called the police. When the officers arrived, Officer Randall Kerrick, instead of showing restraint, shot and killed Ferrell.

To the city’s credit, Kerrick was immediately charged with voluntary manslaughter and will soon face justice. This is important if for no other reason than the fact that more often than not, in cities and towns across America, incidents of excessive force often go unchecked. By saying this I do not mean to besmirch the many valiant law enforcement officers who take their oaths seriously and face dangers each day of their lives in their line of work. But when the facts are clear that an officer acted in excess of the law or departmental rules, it helps to assuage public fears and re-establish the public trust when said officers are held accountable for their actions.

While the legal wranglings in Ferrell’s case will take their due course, in the interim the Tallahassee community and Rattler nation must seek to find comfort in God and knowing that while men and women are frail and often make mistakes, that perhaps—just maybe—Ferrell’s death will not be in vain if by dying those officers who are reckless or who do not take their oaths as seriously as their comrades, learn to use wisdom and restraint while remembering that their job is to protect and serve—not to harass and kill.

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About The Author

Chuck Hobbs is a trial lawyer and freelance writer who won the Florida Bar Media Award in 2010 and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary by the Tallahassee Democrat in 2011. A Tallahassee native, Hobbs is a graduate of Morehouse College, Florida A&M University School of Graduate Studies and the University of Florida Levin College of Law.